Oct 15: Vegas !!

I left Utah Friday afternoon in my hire car bound for Vegas. Utah has some awesome countryside.
I fit in a quick 30 minute detour to see at least a small glimpse of Zion's National Park.


Kolob Canyon - so why didnt I buy that wide angle lens when I was in Bangkok?! - There is a panoramic view here which you cannot see all of. :(


Kolob Canyon

It does flatten right out though leaving Utah.. and I felt like I was in the movie 'Swingers'
If you know the movie, you might enjoy these links:
Movie1
Movie2

I could only fit in one day in Vegas, but my flight was at 2am so I really did have a full 24 hours to work with.
I planned EVERYTHING that day, wow I was organised. I knew what attractions I wanted to see and to see it all required precise planning of everything including how long the transport takes to get from A to B and so on. It all paid off, I even ended up with a small amount of time spare. I think maybe I made some time up when I drove out to Hoover Dam, Maybe.. :)

The first night I was there I decided to have a taste of gambling. I sat at a $25 table with $75 (All the cash I had in my hand at the time). This isnt exactly enough to really get going at a blackjack table, only enough for three hands! Amazingly I ended up taking $700 out! I upped my bets when I got blackjacks or strong hands, I dropped them when I was getting garbage. I started to hover around $700 up, and could hear that song: "You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away and know when to run.." I decided it would be smart to stand up at this point, but boy was I happy with a return of 1000% !


The MGM Grand! - So Money Baby !

Feeling content to have gotten any gambling out of the way, I did a bit of wandering around and taking in some of Vegas by night. Vegas is very tourist based, and you can tell that most people on the strip are there for a short stay and to have fun. One of the first things you notice wandering around Vegas is the dudes / dudettes who are trying to sell hookers.. They have these flyers they try to hand you, but they have a way about doing that that is hilarious.. In an attempt to either draw attention to themselves (and its hard to miss them walking down the footpath - they're everywhere) or perhaps a way to entertain themselves doing their mundane job, they smack one flyer down on the pile twice before extending it out to you.. This may not sound unbeleivably interesting but I guess, its one of those things "you had to be there". I'll definitely do my impersonation for you next time if you want.. or just ask Dan :)

First stop the next morning was the Star Trek Experience ride at the Vegas Hilton. I was told to do this and it definitely is something to see. The casino area is a great mimic of the set of Deep Space Nine or more accurately Quark's bar. There are two different rides (Kilngon & Borg) that are a mix of running through sets and sit in rides. The best bit was the 'transporter effect' at the start of the Kilngon ride. This ride started with us all forming into five rows of people, and luckily I was at the start of one of these rows. In front of me was a star trek style door and when the action began the lights went out and communications and alarms began to create the scene. My eyes were open when in an instant I felt a rush of air and I was in another place! This was very cool..


Quarks' Bar

After having a look at some of the major casinos I headed back to my hotel to head out to Hoover Dam. This was a last minute addition to the plans, but worth the couple of hours it tooks to get out there have a look and come back. The drive was about 30-45 minutes, and you have to pass through a police checkpoint as cars can drive across the dam itself. It wasnt surprising to have to pass through a police checkpoint as this dam provides power for most of western USA! No doubt a good target for terrorism. The dam is very impressive.. just have a look at the photos :)


Hoover Dam - wasnt there a Halflife level that looked like this ?!


Hoover Dam - Arizona and Nevada intake towers.


Hoover Dam - A massive power production facility, electrical cables run everywhere.


Hoover Dam - Dam Wall.

When I got back it was time for the Stratosphere tower. The tower has four thrill rides at the very top. I was really keen to get up there and see these! I ended up only going on three of them. The rollercoaster goes around the top of the tower, so there is no real looping or anything like that.. just a rollercoaster that makes you hope every last bolt was tightened properly !! Another ride is made of a car on a stationary rail that can pivot like a see-saw that is around 20 metres long, only it extends out over the edge of the tower. It angles downwards and you roll to the end of it a couple of times.. This was bloody terrifying especially as there didnt seem to be too much apart from the thin blade on the top of the rail to bring the car to a stop, obviously being gripped by pads contained on the car. Sitting at the front of this ride made it soo much scarier.. and there was hardly anything around me except the seat I was in and the floor of the car! Nuts!


View of the stratosphere tower. Look at the rides hanging off there!


View from observation deck.

By far the best ride though was the "Big Shot" which is at the very top of the tower. This ride is a square construction that has 4 seats a side, and shoots you straight upward causing you to undergo +4Gs on the way to the top and negative Gs on the way down. Being at this ride at 8pm at night gave a great view of Vegas at nighttime. I picked a seat which would overlook the strip :) The whole ride is outdoors on top of a small concrete platform, not much bigger than the ride itself. You barely have anything else in front of you when sitting in the ride other than the view of vegas. The feeling this view creates combined with the feeling of being shot up in the air is mind blowing, I cannot even describe it, suffice to say that everyone on the strip would have heard me yell: "Ohhh F************************************" It was so good, I went again.. and was even more pumped up beforehand because its so thrilling !!

The last thing I did with my day was see the stage show "Jubilee" which is one of the oldest running Vegas shows. It was pretty good, but not fantastic. It doesnt compare at all to the ones at Moulin Rouge.. but then, neither did the price tag!

As it came time to get the hell out of there, I realised I hadnt really thought about how long it would take to get to the airport. Lucky me though, Vegas happens to have an airport right next to the strip! This was awesome because I only left 2 hours to get to my flight, including driving to the airport, paying for the hire car, and checking in. It took about 2 seconds to get to the airport so that worked out really well.

Vegas summary:

Countries visited since leaving Australia: Still 2??
Days there: 1
Coolest Thing: Winning (Dans') money, the stratosphere tower rides, free beers when your gambling at a table, driving to Vegas
Worst thing: My hotel room.
Weirdest thing: Definitely the hooker dudes, and the paper flyers they have everywhere (even stuck in chicken wire fences all around the place.)
Best beer: Didnt drink much when I was here - but I put away a few Heiny's at the tables.
Next Destination: Lihue, Kauaii, Hawaii.
Most Eye-catching thing: A Walmart distirbution center on the side of the highway with 500 thousand semis in the carpark.

Sorry to everyone that think I am in Vegas, I am actually back in London now. My blog is still behind .. Ive got Hawaii, France, London Part 2, New York and Norway to go !!

Sept 24 - Oct 15: Lindon / Provo Utah.

I had only been in London two weeks before it was time to set off to U.S.A. The purpose of this trip was to head to Lindon Utah, where my company is based to provide some training over one week, and to receive training over another two weeks. Given that I had Luke's wedding in Hawaii following week and knowing that flights to Honolulu dont exactly leave from Lindon Utah, I planned a day in Vegas on the way out, just like Dan did when he went to the states earlier this year.

As it turns out, Dan and I have had quite alot of similarities lately. Let me put that into picture. Dan and myself both have:

1) We left Australia to live and work in London.
2) We're both working in IT on relatively similar wages, both working for U.S. based companies and both working near Bank tube station.
3) We both 'Dossed' (used the couch at) Julie's place on arrival.
4) We both had a trip to U.S.A for work purposes..
5) We both visited Vegas and got there in hire cars (although coming from different directions)
6) We both gambeled (although Dan lost money, I won money. :) )
6) We both bought snowboards over in North America (Dan bought his in Canada, mine was bought in U.S.A)

and the list continues but you get the picture.

Knowing this is how things are, I totally ripped off Dan's blog summary at the bottom of these posts. Thanks mate ! (Dan's blog is at danvito.blogspot.com, if you care to check that out - it makes a good read.)

I touched down in Salt Lake around 8 at night, so I had the joy of getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road at nighttime not having a clue where I was going. I had a pretty 'fat ass' car though so that was sweet. (Toyota Avalon, plenty of luxury.)

I was staying at the Provo Marriot. Provo, Orem and Lindon are all cities that run together so this is why I was working in Lindon but staying in Provo. Most people have some sort of situation like this, where they live in a different city but its all one and the same really. These three cities and Salt Lake City all form the 'Wasatch Front'. The beauty about this was needing to get on I15 (Interstate 15) to get to work, which was my daily drive for the time I was here.


Looking out over the "Wasatch front" - Provo, Orem, Lindon.

Streets are numbered in Utah. Not like 42nd, 43rd etc.. they are named '300 South' or similar. This example means, south of the center of the town/city, and further away from the center than 200. This means you can find your way without a map. This does however still become a learning experience as I found out. Note, If you get told to drive to '4 South' in Salt Lake City when you trying to find a shopping mall, go to 400 South. 4 South does not exist and is a shortcut name for 400 South. Please also note: Because the cities run together, be wary. You may find out that the street you are in has two names, ie: 400 South (Lindon) / 300 North (Provo). This can cause last minute changes of direction when driving by tourists.. IE: ME.

Provo center street.

The first night I was there I had dinner with Brent Ring, a colleague from work. Brent cooks up a mean Chicken BBQ so that was lovely and very nice to meet his family. People in Lindon are typically of the Church of Latter Day Saints also known as Mormons and contrary to what rumour you hear live a very pleasant everyday lifestyle. I found them all to be extremely warm and generous.


A typical Mormon church in Utah. These are everywhere in this area.

Training went well in the first week, but I had to spend the night working on the material for the next day. As a result I was stuck in my hotel room or at work so didnt have much of an outlet and was starting to go stir crazy by the end of that week. Luckily I had a 'game room' in the hotel that was on my floor, and snuck out every so often to play a pinball game.

For those people who aren't aware, modern day pinball machines give you a chance at getting a free credit at the end of the game. It displays a number such as 00,10,20,30,40 etc up to 90 and does some little animation like blowing a box up and the number that is revealed, if it equals the one shown, you get a free credit. Strangely enough, the pinball I played "Theatre of Magic" was constantly coughing up free credits !! Not only did it do this, but hardly anyone was playing it and the free credit score limit was set low aswell.. Sometimes I would play with one quarter and get 10 free games out of it !! Needless to say, this gave me some entertainment in that first week and I ended up smashing the record on that pinball and breaking a billion points! :)


What can I say - the gamer in me will never die!

Bars in utah are rare as Hens Teeth. Good bars are even rarer. I found one great one though, called AtchaFalaya and it just so happened to be stumbling distance from my Hotel. Utah has some odd laws about drinking though, and you have to get membership of a bar ($3.50 or so) just to be able to drink there. Apart from that, in the U.S.A, get this, they can choose to pour you a non-alcoholic drink at their own discretion if your wasted. This means you ask for a beer, and they give you something beer-like that isnt alcoholic. I thought this was a really interesting way of handling people who are too drunk.

At the bar I met some interesting people from all over the U.S. and have some funny conversations. Being an Aussie is just the best thing in U.S.A. All you need to do is drop a 'G'Day mate' and your an instant celebrity!! So there I was - "the aussie" .. I met a few friends that I hung out with over the remaining time and this helped make the stay in Utah very enjoyable.

One of my missions while in U.S.A was to get snowboard gear. I did some research on the net before I went to buy a board. I started with the Burton website and pretty much didnt go much further than there. After getting a good idea on what was what and what I wanted I checked a few board shops out. The first one I checked had an okay range and I wanted to have a look at some of the older (half price) stock. The stand of clearance stuff was full of crap but as I was sifting through I noticed this larger decent looking board up the back there.. I pull it out and its this Burton Baron '05 model, in blue. Absolutely gorgeous! I couldnt beleive my luck, I had found a top of the line Burton board that looked amazing and was reduced to less than half the retail price !! It also fit my height / weight category. I bought it, a bag (half price), Boots and bindings (Burton Cartels) for I couldnt beleive it! All up I got all my shit for 600 or so USD. The board alone back home is $930 and is still current. Ka-Ching !!!


Xmas arrived early.. :)

Utah has some of the best outdoor activites you will find anywhere. Snow fields (Which get fantastic powder snow) are 15 minutes drive from people's homes. Rock-climbing, hiking, and so on are all highly rated on a global scale. I enjoyed some rock-climbing (thanks again Brent) and also got to see some ice hockey games. During autumn all the Aspen trees change colour to a very rich blood red and their leaves fall. At this time its tradition for schoolkids to go and pick leaves to give to their class teacher. I took a drive up with Brent and his family for some photos. It wasnt so easy because the roads were very busy, although everyone is going at a snail's pace for two reasons: to grab leaves, and also because the roads are not exactly wide and everyone here drives massive pickups (Dodge RAMs and DMC Suburbans).

Enjoying some Utah outdoors.


Brent taking care of safety business.


Various scenes from the "Alpine loop" road.


Various scenes from the "Alpine loop" road.


Various scenes from the "Alpine loop" road.

Overall I had a really great time in Utah. This was due to alot of factors, but not limited to buying my board and buying some jeans that are actually made in my size at rock bottom prices, Brent's hospitality spending time showing me alot of what Utah has to offer, and just generally getting to see another part of the world I never knew anything about. A big thankyou to Brent and his family and all the nice people I met. Utah has alot going for it, this visit was a great experience.


Road leading up to Sundance ski resort.

Oh - I almost forgot to mention this: I got a great cocktail recipe while there as follows:

B.O.B.Y (Better off by yourself)
Vodka
Shambourg
Blue Curacao
with Lemonade over crushed ice.


PS: For those who wanted higher resolution pictures, you can click the photos to see larger versions !!

Utah Summary:
Days Spent: 21 (Go my marriot rewards points!)
Countries visited since leaving Australia: 2.
Best Thing: Buying stuff cheap. Utah outdoor activites.
Worst Thing: Leaving my armani sunnies somewhere.. Gone!!
Best Beer: Provo Girl (Local)
Most disgusting food: American cheese is terrible.
Next Destination: Vegas baby Vegas !

Sept 11: Additional pictures.

Here are some additional pictures from the first two weeks in London:
(Dan how on Earth do you put up with Blogspot - this UI is messed up !)

Tower Bridge. Pretty much the only sightseeing Ive done in London so far!

Above Bank tube station. Dan and my workplaces are very close to here.

Julie's friend Claire showing off the Akubra that I bought in Australia for a colleague in Utah.

Looking back on Bank station from the front of the platform. MIND THE GAP!!

Sept 11: Arriving in London.

Well its about time I put up some news. Mostly this is for "me Maa" who wanted to see some more pictures and information about whats been happening since I arrived. I am going to start at the beginning though from when I left Sydney, so you'll have to wait until I get another post or two going to get the latest news.

I had one minor issue leaving Sydney and that was paying for excess baggage. I kind of expected it but hoped I might get away with it.. Oh well, at least I have everything I could need here including stuff for summer months and more importantly winter months as well as my snow gear. When I arrived I decided to take the tube to Julie Kraegen's where I was kindly allowed to stay for two weeks (Big thanks to Julie and all the flatmates who made the stay just lovely. I wont miss the dodgy hot water system though!).

Leaving Heathrow on the tube, I suddenly realised I wasnt in Sydney no more, and had those feelings of dread like "What have I done!?" Didnt last longer than 10 seconds though, and I quickly became very excited and open eyed about the what lay ahead! Carrying all my luggage on the tube wasnt so great. This wasnt helped by my incorrect choices of tube lines, costing me some uneccessary baggae handling. Im sure the District line has bitten more than just the inexperienced traveller.. just have a look at the tube map and find Earl's court. They should have called that station Octopus central !! After some unnecessary portering of my own luggage, I finally got to Jules' place in Kilburn park.

The famous Chateau Kraegen

On the Sunday when I arrived there just so happened to be an F1 race on. Ive been following F1 all this year and Mark and I have been going for McLaren and Renault respectively. This year would have been a record number of wins in a row for Ferrari and so both Mark and I were happy to see any team put them away. It just so happened - this year has been a nail biter right to the last race and I was dead keen to see the race that day! With nothing else to do I wondered if that would be possible. I hadnt realised that Jules was perhaps even more a fan than I was, and so not only did I get to see the race, I also had a mate to watch the race, with the same support for McLaren as what I had back home ! We spent the day knocking back plenty of cans of beer and watching that race.

For the next two weeks, I got myself somewhat sorted for work. I really wasnt doing any real work though, which gave me plenty of time to *try* and get myself setup in the UK. Catching the tube was good fun during these 2 weeks. Its a great public transport system (or at least when you've just come from Sydney your sure to think so.. apparently this 'wears off' as you get more and more caught by unexpected delays - Ive been minorly affected so far.)

I had used FirstContact to get a bank account going, as this is probably the hardest thing to get in the UK. Not really - I got my account easily enough after going to the FirstContact office armed with my paperwork. By far the craziest and difficult thing was trying to get a National Insurance number. This number is their equivalent to a tax file number. To get this, I made a call and spoke to someone who (in a very efficient way indicating her experience at doing this) rattled of 8.. Yes 8.. different numbers to me. I frantically wrote them down and said: "What do you want me to do with all these numbers" to which the reply was: "Call them.. and when they dont answer.. keep calling them. They're the right numbers". What can you say to that ? I called the numbers - they didnt answer. About a week later I hit a website again and found some other number secretly tucked away in the depths of some UK government webpage. This one actually answered - and I got an appointment setup for the Saturday before leaving to Utah. Unfortunately, I missed that appointment that morning - Thanks Claire for the good night out :) .. and still to this day dont have a NI number..

I went for a walk around London bridge and Tower bridge one day for a brief bit of sight-seeing (the only sightseeing I've done so far..

The following is totally copy - paste from Danvito's website, thanks Mate !

London Summary:
Days There: 13
Countries visited since leaving Australia: 1
Coolest thing: Catching the F1 with Jules
Weirdest Thing: Thinking canned beer is great, and what a bargain - 99p.
Worst Thing: 2 Pence coins, not only are they copper and large, they're worth "Fuck all"
Best beer: Kronenbourg 1664 (France)
Weather: Surprisingly sunny / blue skied.
Next stop: Lindon, Utah.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Blogspot.com bites !! I cant attach pictures anymore to this post so Im just going to add them to a seperrate blog entry Farken!